In an article written by the Süddeutsche we learn of the dedication and community of students and teachers, and how they come together to achieve remarkable success.
From innovative teaching methods to outstanding student achievements, this school is setting a shining example of what can be accomplished with dedication, work and collaboration. Read on to discover the inspiring journey of this exceptional educational institution and the positive impact it’s having on its students.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ARTICLE
At the Create Schools in Tutzing, lessons start at 10 a.m., and that is not the only special feature of the public school. A class visit on the occasion of the school's tenth anniversary.
By Carolin Fries, Tutzing
When the report cards are ceremoniously presented at the Create Schools in Tutzing on Friday, it's not just one sheet of paper per child. Each pupil's ‘school report’ comprises more than 20 pages. The teachers' assessments and evaluations are up to two pages long for each subject in the folders, and up to four pages for the main subjects. There are no grades from one to six. ‘What's the point?’ asks Stefanie Norman. How can a number accurately describe how a person has dealt with maths, German or English for a year? The 47-year-old school founder and director shakes her head.
She and Gina Deininger wanted a different school to the one they had got to know in Germany after studying in the UK and Australia - both psychology, Norman also a teacher. ‘The children look forward to school so much and then after six months they don't want to go any more. That can't be right,’ remembers Norman. And then the only thing that mattered at first was the transfer after fourth grade. ‘The passion and curiosity are lost,’ observed the two women, who worked as teachers for a private school chain in Munich for a few years. Above all, however, they were disturbed by the fact that the current school systems are ‘equalising’: Everyone should be as good as possible in all subjects. This causes a lot of frustration. Yet it is clear that people have individual strengths and talents in different areas. ‘We can do better than that,’ they thought - and founded their own school.
Because they couldn't find any premises in Munich and proximity to nature was an important criterion when choosing a location, they ended up in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg. That was ten years ago, and they will be celebrating in September. ‘That's quite something when a school can last that long,’ says Dirk Rosenberg. The sports teacher from Bernried has been there from the very beginning, ‘like many of my colleagues,’ he emphasises. There are hardly any changes and the atmosphere is good. The 70-year-old now only teaches two and a half lessons a week, but during this time he teaches all the primary school pupils and the boys in years five to eight. Rosenberg likes the international flavour of the school and the fact that they speak English. ‘And I like the fact that school starts at 10am. Everyone has had breakfast and is awake.’
The late start to lessons is a speciality of the Create Schools, which teach according to the international Cambridge School model. The aim is to start learning well rested, so lessons last until 4 pm. There is no homework, at least until the sixth form. The primary school, called Foundation, lasts four years, then it's on to high school, which concludes in the tenth year with the IGCSE exams, which are equivalent to the intermediate school leaving certificate. Finally, in the two-year college, A-level examinations can be taken in three subjects, which is equivalent to a specialised baccalaureate. ‘That's really demanding,’ says Deininger.
The founders of the school deliberately decided against the internationally recognised IB qualification in five subjects, which is equivalent to the general higher education entrance qualification and is taken at international schools. They want to specifically promote talent and aptitude, especially when it comes to graduating and studying. ‘Maths shouldn't stop you if you don't like it,’ says Norman. Instead, he concentrates on his favourite subjects, such as languages, natural sciences, psychology and sociology.
At ten in the morning, it is quiet in the industrial building, which looks more like a warehouse than a school from the outside. There is no screaming and shouting, the last children quickly scurry off to their classrooms. There is no chime, ‘we use the clock,’ says school secretary Ina Vogelgesang. The door to the garden is open: A stream babbles past the playhouse and the slackline, the path leads over a small bridge into the forest. Between 90 and 96 pupils are taught here on the outskirts of the village. The state-approved supplementary school, as which the institution is formally recognised up to the eighth grade, and the exam preparation institute from the ninth grade onwards are hardly known. Many people in Tutzing don't know the school either. ‘We don't advertise,’ says Gina Deininger. ‘Word of mouth is enough.’ Meanwhile, the new mayor Ludwig Horn has already got to know the school: ‘The contact is good, the dialogue uncomplicated,’ he says. He is particularly pleased that the Create Schools are actively involved in community life and take part in the Culture Night, for example.
In primary school, lessons are taught in English for one week and in German for one week; later on, the majority of lessons are taught in English. Many teachers are native speakers and many pupils come from abroad. ‘In our ten years, we have had pupils from 41 countries,’ says Deininger proudly. This enriches everyday life at the school immensely. In general, there is a broad cross-section of all social, intellectual and economic backgrounds. Highly gifted children attend the school, as do dyslexics and inclusion children. ‘Just normal children,’ says Deininger, who everyone just calls “Dr G.”.
To put it simply, the 55-year-old wrote her doctoral thesis on creative thinking processes. ‘We want critical children who question instead of just memorising,’ she says. Schools need to prepare them for the future and give them the right tools: Resilience, media skills, climate education. The timetable therefore also includes unusual subjects such as ‘Global Perspective’, sustainability and Spanish as a second foreign language. History and economics are taught from the perspective of the present and future and linked to the past. If there is an assassination attempt on the president in the USA, this is of course the subject of the next school day.
‘I like that it's so clearly organised,’ says a primary school pupil who is on his way to another room. The classes have a maximum of 14 pupils and are supervised by a class teacher up to year ten. Another boy likes the late start to lessons and grins cheekily. Anyone applying to the Create Schools has to go through a selection process. ‘The mindset has to be right,’ says Deininger, who is the director and managing director of the non-profit organisation. And also the wallet: the school costs 1,378 euros per month per child, and there is no sibling discount. But there are scholarships, even pro rata. According to Deininger, only half of the pupils pay the full price. ‘We organise it very individually.’ To mark its tenth anniversary, the school plans to award an additional ten scholarships, which provide for up to 75 per cent reduction in school fees for the primary school years. An extension is possible in individual cases.
A few children come into the garden at break time and the swing and slackline are immediately occupied. Later, they are served lunch at the school, which is supplied by Albrechthof from Polling. The children eat at different times because the dining hall is not big enough for everyone. In general, the school is bursting at the seams, as Deininger says, which is why she would like to outsource the college. But where? The headmistress shrugs her shoulders. In other words: finding rooms for a school is not easy. But at the end of the school year, she doesn't want to complain, she wants to celebrate: the Beccult in Pöcking has been booked for the graduation ceremony. All classes will be performing, there will be certificates and, for the fourth-graders, gowns and little doctor's hats for reaching high school.
Comments